No need to choose between travel and having a family, do both

taiwanTravel has reached an all-time high on women’s priority lists. According to a poll by Bing, women listed traveling the world as their highest priority. Numbers 2 & 3 were having a family and living in another country respectively.

I propose that we don’t have to choose. Live in another country with your family and travel when you have a vacation!

OK, OK, that may sound very pie-in-the-sky, but it’s more doable than you might think; my husband and I did it for many years. There are job opportunities abroad for many categories of professions (we’re both teachers) and living abroad is a great opportunity for the entire family.

My husband and I first got teaching jobs in an American school in Egypt, then moved on to Ethiopia after a few years, then to Taiwan and finally Malaysia before deciding to move back to the USA. In all, we taught in international schools for twelve years.

During every vacation from work, we traveled either around the country we lived in or to some other, nearby, country. Once we had children, our kids came with us to explore the world.

There are international opportunities in many professions, including teaching, medicine, engineering, technology, and more. Check around and see what kinds of opportunities are out there for you and take advantage of them. Living abroad is a great way to learn about the world!

Nancy Sathre-Vogel is mom to Family on Bikes, a family of four who recently rode their bikes 17,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina. She blogs about lessons learned from their journey at www.familyonbikes.org

Posted by | Comments (2)  | May 7, 2012
Category: Family Travel


2 Responses to “No need to choose between travel and having a family, do both”

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